L'intrus

While the reviews I've heard didn't have much good to say about this film I appreciated it for it's straight-forwardness. It is an entertainment. That's all I wanted on the day I saw this film so I was pleased. There are points that seem implausible and ask the audiences' indulgence but they are forgivable and do not detract from the story Travolta and Vaughn give solid performances and for me, Buscemi is always fun to watch. Don't expect the reaffirmation of the virtues of being an involved parent. Expect to finish your popcorn and rasinettes.

To start off, I enjoyed "Domestic Disturbance". I found it kept me shaking and on the edge of my seat through-out the entire film (which was rather short, by the way).

ACTING: As you probably already know, this film has some of the best-in-the-biz. Including such stars as John Travolta and Vince Vaughn, alongside newcomer Daniel O'Leary. Travolta decently played the good-guy divorced father, trying to protect his teenage son from an apparent murderer.

The murderer/stepfather was played typically by Vaugh who's portrayed serial killer roles in other movies such as "Clay Pigeons" and the remake of Hitchcock's classic thriller, "Psycho". And on to the young victim of mayhem...

Daniel O'Leary. A relatively good child actor who convincingly plays a stressed, frightened teen boy seems the perfect choice, with his convicingly frightened facial expressions.

All in all good acting. Mainly on Vaughn and Travolta's part.

STORY/WRITING: The movie flails mainly in this category. Thrilling, edge-of-your seat thriller until un-eventful ending. I'll try not to give it away, but it's a tad rushed.

The story isn't all-to origional, nor is anything else in this film. The dialogue is mediocre. Basically the entire script is pretty mediocre...

DIRECTING: Very nice direction. The director's dark, creepy style carries the movie along swiftly. If this director had been given a better script, with the same actors, "Domestic Disturbance" could've achieved brilliance.

Once again, direction is a high-point in this film.

BOTTOM LINE: A good thriller. 7 out of 10 stars.

There's nothing that pisses me off more in a movie than when someone fails to put up an adequate argument on their behalf when they're being accused of something.

It's like they either have the character act like a total maniac by flying off the handle when denying what they're being accused of (so obviously the other party will of course not believe them now), or they say the completely wrong things and understate their case, and it is extremely frustrating to watch because you're just sitting there screaming, "WHY DON'T YOU JUST SAY THIS!!"

When that kid was in the interrogation room, his best method of convincing people that a murder took place was by weakly repeating: "look, I know what I saw OK.." Yeah that's gonna convince people. I don't care if you're 12, that's not the way you argue with people, and it's unrealistic.

The other thing that was silly was how the kid and the mother was STILL in the car by the time the father called her cell phone. They should've been gone by then, there was no logical reason why they would've still been in that garage, other than the fact the movie called for them to be there so the stepfather could catch them.

Come on be intelligent when you write, justify your damn script.

'Domestic Disturbance' is pretty much another typical Hollywood thriller. The thing with these movies is that they are very easy to predict. We already know what will happen in the end. So why watch it? Well, the plot might be interesting. In this case, it isn't bad but it gives the deja-vu impression. It isn't anything intricate enough to create suspense but what kept me entertained were the characters and actors. I liked Travolta's Frank. A hardworking down-to-earth boatmaker who's going through a slump in business because people prefer plastic over wood. But through it all he remains a good father and a kind person at heart. It was fun to watch Vince Vaughn play a sociopath. He does not overact and brilliantly maintains Rick's deceitful gentleman mask behind which hides someone dangerous. The child actor is clueless. Teri Polo is pretty much given a clichéd role but I liked her, especially in the scene where she discovers that Rick was the one who set fire. 'Domestic Disturbance' doesn't have much (or anything?) to offer in terms of novelty but it was not exactly boring for me so one can give it a go if there is nothing else better on offer.

I didn't expect much from this movie but at the end I was very satisfied with the story. In the first third of the film happened not much but the last two thirds were suspenseful and very entertaining. There were also some scary moments and the soundtrack was also top. The picture was clear and the actors did a great job here. I liked especially John Travolta and Vince Vaughn. Congratulation also to the director Harold Becker and thank you. I hope that Hollywood will create more films like this one because quality is no more the same than before. After I watched it again with my wife we upgraded our rating from 6/10 to 7/10.